The Little Black Dress
by Lumiere Nordiques
Summary: It's the day before graduation, and all through the house, all the seniors are partying, scaring the mouse. It seems like Blossom's the only one not having fun. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Powerpuff Girls characters. I'm just playing with them in the toybox. **

**Warning: Rated T for some language and the use of the words panties. **

**Pairings: Reds **

**Directions: Enjoy! **

**~~~O~O~O~~~**

**The Little Black Dress**

This isn't where I wanted to be. In fact, this was the last place on Earth that I'd rather be. I cannot fathom how Bubbles managed to convince me to come here. I'm sure it was something along the lines of, "But Blossom! I don't want to go all by myself. What if Princess tries something at the party? Who will back me up? Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease…"

Right. That's how I found myself sitting on a sofa in the mansion of the most spoiled girl on the planet, Princess Morbuck. I don't care how mature we're all suppose to be; I hated that girl. She hasn't changed in the slightest. She was still just as bratty and self-centered as she was thirteen years ago.

Bubbles just _had _to come, and since Bubbles convinced me to come, Buttercup also grudgingly followed. She didn't want to be stuck at home alone like "all the other losers". Everybody would be at this party. This was the last social event before our graduation. Nobody wanted to miss it, even if the host wasn't the best person in the world. Perhaps the students wanted to tie up some loose ends with their fellow classmates, or perhaps they just wanted to let loose before having to pull on those blue robes. Either way, all the seniors were here.

I felt uncomfortable; not physically uncomfortable. The couch was actually quite plush, but I was out of my zone. Parties, especially house parties, were not my forte. Bubbles excelled in that field. Heck, even Buttercup was a better partier than I was.

All in all, I felt a bit stupid for just sitting in the corner and watching people grind against each other on the floor. However, I didn't feel stupid enough to plunge into the mob and join in on the dancing. For one thing, I didn't dance very well. Secondly, I had no urge to have some guy's hands on any part of my body. Especially while wearing this outfit. Bubbles had managed to get me into a slinky black dress which stopped mid-thigh, which I'd been stretching to breaking point to hide my legs. I'd had to resort to draping my jacket over my legs.

Why was I here again?

A pair of teenagers suddenly fell into the seat beside me. They were locked in a passionate embrace, and I swear they were trying to see who could eat the other's face off first. I sputtered something indignantly at them, but they completely ignored me, so I stood up and decided that anywhere was better than here.

Princess's house was huge, like _huge, _huge. The hallways formed a kind of labyrinth that even the Minotaur would have been lost in. Queen Elizabeth would be jealous upon viewing the inside. Currently, half of the school was milling around in her house, yet most of it was _still_ unoccupied.

I climbed up a random staircase, hoping to get away from the noise. I wasn't in the party mood, and sitting there just gave me more time to worry. Worry about the future. Worry about the speech. Worry about separation.

In fact, I was so busy worrying, I managed to stumble right into somebody. If he had been human, he would have fallen on his butt, but he hadn't, which narrowed down the possible suspects. Sure enough, when I looked up, I met the sardonic gaze of my most fierce rival, Brick Jojo.

He stared at me for a few long moments, and I began feeling unusually awkward and defensive. "What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly. "And _what_ are you wearing?"

I flushed, valiantly attempting to hide my legs with my jacket. Deciding that it was a lost cause, I raised my chin up. "I was invited." Well, that wasn't necessarily true. Nobody was invited; they just showed up.

Brick raised a brow. "That doesn't explain why you're wearing _that_? Not that I'm complaining…" He smirked at my discomfort. "But it doesn't seem like your style. Did you raid Princess's closet?"

"I was coerced," I muttered before brushing past him. I contemplated flying home, but then the whole city would see what color my underwear was, which immediately crossed that choice off of my list. I didn't care how dark it was outside. I wouldn't be taking that chance. It was bad enough having Brick witness my current state of undress.

Brick fell into step beside me. I shot him an irritated look, but he kept his eyes firmly in front of him. "The great Blossom Utonium balking under peer pressure. Never thought I'd see the day."

Raising my chin defiantly, I said, "I wasn't balking under anything. Bubbles was just being incredibly annoying and wouldn't let me leave my room if I came in jeans." Which, come to the think of it, wouldn't have been such a bad thing.

Brick stuffed his hands into his pocket and glared at the ground as if it personally offended him. I had no idea what he wanted exactly, but it was nice having a conversation with him without bickering. It was rare, but when it did happen, I realized that Brick was more than just my classroom rival. Sometimes, I wondered if we could have become close friends if he wasn't… himself.

"You're awfully quite," I said. We stopped in an empty hallway, where the thrum of music could barely be discerned. Brick glanced around before sinking onto the ground. Should I join him, I wondered. It would be awkward if I just stood here. But would he feel uncomfortable if I sat beside him? Would he be less likely to stare at my legs if I sat with him.

I cursed myself for being so socially awkward. I could make rousing speeches during debates and banquets, but I couldn't, for the life of me, interact with people my own age.

Why couldn't I just make a stupid decision?

Brick put me out of my misery by looking up at me with an amused expression. "Are you just going to stand there all night or are you going to join me. I'd promise not to bite but," he wiggled his brows, "I'd be lying." Rolling my eyes, I dropped down beside him and make sure to cover my thighs properly, least some drunk pervert come stumbling over. Brick was more than enough.

"So," I said, in that eloquent manner that came naturally to me, "mind telling me what's on your mind?" Brick Jojo should never brood. He couldn't pull it off.

He scratched the side of his head and shrugged. "Nothing really. Just wasn't in the mood to deal with Princess and her clingy bitchery."

"Language," I reminded him automatically. He snorted. I was notorious for telling people to "mind their manners," and Buttercup had once commented on how it made me sound like a seventy-year-old virgin, which earned her a dark scowl and the cold shoulder for the rest of the day. Brick, like most everyone else, never heeded my advice. He had a mouth on him, and I found myself telling him to watch his language after nearly every other sentence. At least he wasn't nearly as bad as Butch. That Rowdyruff was a lost cause.

"What about you?" he asked, staring at the opposite wall.

I figured that pushing him for information would just earn me many four letter words, so I said, "Nothing." We were plunged into silence. "Nothing" was far from the truth. My head was filled with worries and my body was practically twitching with nerves. I didn't tell anybody about my ridiculous fears, though. I've taken on an army of monkeys, bloodthirsty monsters, and brainwashed mutants. It was laughable that I would be so afraid of something like graduation.

I swallowed the lump in my throat that formed at the mere thought of the word. It seemed like something that happened to other people. It didn't feel real, like it was still miles and miles down the road. _Stop being so stupid_, I kept telling myself. _You're just graduating, not dying. Stupid spineless fool_. The voice in my head wasn't very supportive in my time of need. I'd need to get that checked.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Brick suddenly said. I almost jumped, having forgotten he was even there while I was having my freak out.

Should I tell him? Of course not! He'd laugh at me. But if I didn't tell somebody, I felt like I'd explode. The hallway was already feeling to enclosed. The music made my skin crawl, and I felt cold, despite the heat radiating from Brick's body. A small piece of my conscious was aware that I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. Sitting next to Brick Jojo in Princess Morbuck's house.

"Um…" I said. "I guess I'm just- I mean, I feel like- It's like this-"

Brick soundlessly watched me dig my way into mortification as I floundered with my words. He had been _odd_ for the past few week, barely saying any rude words to me in the hallway and snapping at everybody else in his path. I was beginning to worry. I wasn't particularly sure what I was worrying about, Brick or Brick's erratic behavior, but I worried nonetheless. After all, what was a little more worrying when I had all of my other issues?

"You're scared, aren't you?" he asked. He had been so spot on, I abruptly shut my mouth, biting my tongue in the process.

"How did you…" I began.

Brick shrugged. "We've been in the same boat for the past month."

"Wait, you've been worried too? About graduation, I mean?" I whispered, just in case he was talking about something else. Picking at the hole in his jeans, he nodded. I let out a sigh. "That's a relief. I thought I was the only one freaking out."

He laughed sharply. "You're definitely not the only one."

"It's just that this doesn't feel real," I began, my words coming in a rush. "I've been going to school with the same people since Pre-K, and some of them are my closest friends. I've spent most of my life in Townsville, and I could walk through town with my eyes closed. And… everything is going to change tomorrow. People are going to leave. I- I'm going out of state for college soon. My sisters aren't going to be around forever. In a few months, I won't be waking up to Bubbles's annoying Backstreet Boy alarm clock or Buttercup's swearing. Everybody's going to leave! I'm going to be all alone!" I felt my breath come in shorter and shorter intervals, and I felt so embarrassed as my eyes welled up with traitorous tears.

Brick shifted over and pressed his hands against my shoulders. "Calm down, Pinky," he said softly. I stared into his dark red eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Better?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I-"

He silenced me with his signature smirk. "It's okay. You want to be comforted by the handsome devil next to you. I understand." I scoffed and attempted to shrug his hands off of my shoulders to no avail. His expression softened. "No, I get it."

"You're telling me that you're going to miss this city, too?" I asked skeptically. Brick didn't seem like the sentimental type.

He rolled his eyes. "Why would I miss this hellhole?"

"Language," I snapped, rather put-out by his description of my hometown.

Ignoring me, he continued, "I'm just thinking about all of the things I wish had did."

"What do you wish you had done?" I inquired curiously.

We stared at each other. He seemed to be trying to convey something through his eyes but I had no idea what the message was suppose to be. Brick leaned closer. "I wish-" We both froze when a muffled snicker sounded behind me. A couple had stumbled into view, giggling and swaying all over the place. They were obviously drunk out of their minds. Brick grumbled something under his breath.

"Fuck off, you drunk idiots!" he shouted. The two teens jumped in shock, finally noticing our presence. They immediately scrambled away after shooting him frightened looks.

"Would this be the time I tell you to watch your language?" He shot me a look and I held my hands up.

"Yeah. I'm definitely not going to miss that," he said, scowling.

"Well, you didn't tell me what you would miss," I said.

He signed. "Maybe another time."

I gritted my teeth. "What other time? We've run out of time, Brick."

He shook his head. "We have all the time in the world, Pinky. Just because we're graduating, it doesn't mean everybody is going to drop off the face of the earth."

"It sure feels like it," I grumbled. Then, in a quieter voice, I said, "Can you promise me something, Brick?"

He looked at me cautiously. "Depends. What am I promising?"

I fiddled with the bottom of my dress. Would I sound stupid? We're barely acquaintances so why should I ask him something like this? Would he laugh at me? Steering myself, I said, "Can you promise to keep in touch with me? I know we're not friends and all, and you're probably wondering what the heck I'm thinking right now, asking you something like this, but we've gotten along so well lately, and I don't want it to end, and-"

He pressed his hand against my mouth to shut me up. "Honestly, Pinky. You need to learn to stop talking so much. Yes. I promise I'll keep in touch." He grinned. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to visit you fairly often." I gave him a blank look and he sighed. "Super speed, remember? Flying skills? And you're the valedictorian why?"

I grinned sheepishly, too happy about the turn of evens to start arguing with Brick. Yes, graduating would be hard, and I'll miss all the people I'll leave behind. But if it meant being on such good terms with Brick, maybe it was worth it.

"By the way," he added casually, "you shouldn't let Bubbles dress you again. There's a hole in your dress, right by your purple panties."

I covered my face with my hands. _Bubbles! _

* * *

><p><strong>This story's been half-finished for months until I decided to give it a go. I was planning a different ending, but Blossom and Brick seemed to have other ideas. <strong>

**I tried to keep everybody in character but show how they've grown up since their younger days. So, did I succeed? Was Brick too... unBrick-like?**

**I'd appreciate your feedback! :D **


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